JERUSALEM
Clashes broke out Friday in several parts of Jerusalem between Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers, only moments after the funeral of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy abducted and killed in a suspected "revenge" attack by Jewish settlers.
Israeli troops used stun grenades, rubber bullets and teargas to disperse Palestinians throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.
Clashes occurred just a few hundred meters from the home of slain teen Mohamed Hussein Abu Khdeer and in several other areas of Jerusalem, including Beit Hanina and Silwan.
They were the worst clashes to be seen in the holy city in years.
Israeli helicopters have been hovering over East Jerusalem – presumably to monitor the area – ever since the charred body of the Palestinian teen was found in a forest near Jerusalem.
Earlier in the day, thousands of Palestinians took part in a massive funeral in East Jerusalem. Mourners called for revenge as they carried Abu Khdeer's coffin through East Jerusalem's Shuafat neighborhood.
"The lives of three Israeli settlers are much more valuable to Israel than our lives are," Arab Knesset member Ahmed Tibi said, standing beside Abu Khdeer's father as the boy was buried.
"We are here to say with thousands of people in Shuafat, Ramallah and in all Palestinian lands, that this boy was a son to all Palestinians," Tibi added.
The boy's death followed the discovery of the bodies of three Israeli teenagers who had gone missing from a West Bank settlement some three weeks earlier.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Mahmoud Falah Abu Khdeer, imam of the Shuafat Mosque, outside which the slain boy was abducted, said the state of the slain boy's body when found "was indescribable."
"It was all black and unrecognizable, like it had been grilled in a fire. I wasn't even able to wash it; I just changed his clothes. I asked his father's permission to take a photo of the body to show the world how cruel the Israeli settlers are," he told AA.
The imam went on to accuse the Israeli government of inciting violence against Palestinians.
"Israeli policy is to encourage settlers to kidnap and attack Palestinian women and children. Their so-called 'religious leaders' urge them to attack us, giving a green light to their criminal activities," the imam added.
He added, however, that he had many Jewish friends who didn't agree with this "aggressive" policy.
"I respect what one of the fathers of the three [slain] settlers… told the press," the imam went on. "He didn't ask for revenge; he said killing was a criminal act whether the victim was Muslim, Christian or Jewish."
Footage taken from a security camera near Abu Khdeer's Jerusalem home shows what appear to be Jewish settlers abducting the boy. In the footage, the kidnappers can be seen forcing him into their car before speeding off.
Tension has mounted since three Israeli settlers who went missing in June were found dead last week near the West Bank city of Hebron.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blamed Hamas for their deaths, threatening to retaliate against the Gaza-based resistance faction.
In the three weeks that followed the settlers' initial disappearance, Israel rounded up hundreds of West Bank Palestinians, including lawmakers, former cabinet ministers and senior Hamas members.
No Palestinian group has claimed responsibility for the settlers' disappearance or subsequent death.
By Turgut Alp Boyraz
www.aa.com.tr/en
